Health & Wellness

Flavonoids

A group of compounds with antioxidant properties, are found in carrots, tea, citrus fruits, berries, broccoli, peppers, squash, tomatoes, soybeans, eggplant, and a variety of other fruits and vegetables. Besides their antioxidant activities, flavinoids seem to be able to inhibit the action of certain hormones such as estrogen, and may help prevent hormone-based malignancies such as breast cancer and prostate cancer.
• Anthocyanins are naturally occurring compounds that impart color to fruit, vegetables, and plants. Derived from two Greek words meaning plant and blue, anthocyanins are the pigments that make blueberries blue, raspberries red, and are thought to play a major role in the high antioxidant activity levels observed in red and blue fruits and vegetables. Anthocyanins are also largely responsible for the red coloring of buds and young shoots and the purple and purple-red colors of autumn leaves. Close to 300 anthocyanins have been discovered; known to improve eye sight.
• coumarins - A class of widely occurring phenolic compounds, especially abundant in citrus fruits, that may help the enzymes that fend off cancer
rutin and hesperidin, which may prevent or slow tumor growth
• kaempferol is a powerful anticancer agent; Black teas are excellent potential source of quercetin, kaempferol and myricetin in the human diet.
• quercitin and myricetin, a flavanoid with antioxidant qualities, which helps eliminate free radicals in the body, inhibits low-density lipoprotein oxidation, protects and regenerates vitamin E and inactivates the harmful effects of chelate metal ions
• resveratrol - fights breast, liver, and colon cancers; also anti-inflammatory

Health & Wellness Articles

In Season

May is the gateway to summer--it is a month that can start off raining, but always seems to end with sunshine. The days are continuing to get warmer and longer, and we are enjoying a wider selection of fresh produce. May is also National Barbeque Month, so if you have not already been outside grilling, there is no excuse to delay any longer. This is a test.